Moral character

The classroom provides an important laboratory in which students learn what a fair and equitable society should look like. From an early age, when students have teachers who spend the time and energy needed to understand their perspectives, beliefs, and values, they learn that their voices are important in the democratic society around them and that they have a right to contribute their own ideas, even if their concerns are in the minority. Teachers practicing Principled Innovation engage the Civic character assets of perspective taking and inclusivity by finding creative ways to ensure that each student’s voice is heard. Designing individual and group activities that draw out students’ values allows teachers to create empathetic bonds with students and parents and to become more responsive, allowing each person’s values to inform the design of the classroom experience.

When we work at the level of a school or a school system, it’s easy for the loudest groups and those in positions of power to dominate the conversation and define which values are the most important. As systems leaders, we have a responsibility to look at who is in the room for community discussions and pursue those who might be left out, defining convenience on their terms rather than on our own. Traditional times for school meetings—shortly after business hours on a weekday evening—might not work for a parent working second shift. Other parents might not be fluent enough in English to keep up with the rapid pace of deliberation or might not speak up because they feel they won’t be heard. Principled Innovators need to actively pursue these voices to ensure fair and inclusive representation in the expression of a community’s values and then work to ensure that the system’s processes and structures actually reflect the identified values.